Maximum Efficiency
SpecificationThe best conversion efficiency an inverter reaches at any single operating point, given as the percentage of DC input power that leaves the unit as usable AC power. It is a peak value measured at the most favourable combination of load and input voltage.
Peak efficiency is the most quoted and least useful efficiency figure, because an inverter almost never sits at that exact operating point. Modern residential string inverters commonly reach the mid-to-high 90s, and the difference between two competing models at peak is usually smaller than the difference in how they behave at partial load. For a fairer comparison use European efficiency, which weights the whole operating curve. Everything not converted becomes heat, which is why efficiency and cooling design are the same conversation.